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Multiple Sclerosis Treatment

The Multiple Sclerosis Center at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center is one of the largest and most comprehensive programs in the United States.

At the Multiple Sclerosis Center, we have a personal approach, spending time listening to you, making sure your questions are answered and developing a plan of care with you.

The Ohio State Multiple Sclerosis Clinic treats more than 4,000 patients. Our physician-scientists have gained national recognition in improving treatment options for patients with multiple sclerosis. People from around the world seek treatment from our fellowship-trained MS specialists and a supporting team of professionals dedicated solely to the management of MS.

Our Multiple Sclerosis Center’s unique features include:

MS Spasticity Center for administering and monitoring treatments for severe and disabling stiffness (spasticity) in the limbs

One of the country’s few 7 Tesla MRI scanners designed for neurological clinical studies

Innovative equipment to monitor disease progression through the retina of the eye

Our world-class research program offers you access to the latest medications and advances in MS management years before they come to market.

Why choose Ohio State for treatment of multiple sclerosis?

All-inclusive: All of the resources you need for MS diagnosis, management and treatment are in one location, Ohio State’s Multiple Sclerosis Center.

Cutting-Edge: MS researchers at the Ohio State Multiple Sclerosis Center, conducting both laboratory and clinical research, are keeping pace with and often leading efforts to advance care for MS.

Multidisciplinary: Ohio State has an entire team of MS doctors dedicated to diagnosing and managing MS, all within our Multiple Sclerosis Center:

Five neurologists with fellowship training in MS

Nurse practitioner

Infusion (IV) nurses

Social worker

Urologist

Psychologist

Psychiatrist

Neuropsychologist

Physical therapists

Experienced, Personalized: You will benefit from the time and personal attention you receive from our MS team, as well as the experience we have acquired as Ohio’s first MS Center. The Ohio State Multiple Sclerosis Center has been recognized by the National MS Society as a Center for Comprehensive MS Care, and provides both state-of-the-art clinical care and clinical trials of novel treatments.

Infusion Center: If you require intravenous therapies or are participating in clinical trials with intravenous therapy, we have our own Infusion Center right in the MS Center. Our infusion nurses provide supportive care as you receive treatment in a comfortable atmosphere.

Spasticity Center: We also have an MS Spasticity Center, within the MS Center, where we administer and monitor treatments for severe and disabling stiffness (spasticity) in the limbs, a common symptom of MS.

Advanced Imaging Tools: To aid in diagnosing your condition, Ohio State has advanced imaging tools, including a 3 Tesla magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine for superior images of patients’ brains and spinal cords. We also have one of the country’s few 7 Tesla MRI scanners designed for neurological clinical studies.

Flexible Scheduling: We are happy to work with your referring physician on a plan for ongoing care if routine visits to Ohio State are not practical. Our patients who travel a significant distance sometimes choose to come to the center for periodic checkups and adjustments of their treatment plan. We do whatever is best for you.

Scarlet and Gray MS Community: The Ohio State Multiple Sclerosis Center is dedicated to the MS community. We offer educational events for people living with MS, their loved ones and experts to connect in a safe and secure environment.

Types of MS

Multiple sclerosis is a nervous system disease that affects your brain and spinal cord. It damages the myelin sheath, the material that surrounds and protects your nerve cells. This damage slows down or blocks messages between your brain and your body, leading to the symptoms of MS. They can include:

Visual problems

Spasticity (painful and disabling stiffness)

Muscle weakness

Trouble with coordination and balance

Sensations such as numbness, prickling or "pins and needles"

Thinking and memory problems

Fatigue

No one knows what causes MS. It may be an autoimmune disease, which happens when your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake. Multiple sclerosis affects women more than men. It often begins between the ages of 20 and 40. Usually, the disease is mild, but some people lose the ability to write, speak or walk.

There are four main types of multiple sclerosis:

Relapsing-remitting MS

Relapsing-remitting MS affects about 85 percent of people with MS. One or more symptoms described above flare up (this is the relapse) and then improve somewhat or completely (remit). During a relapse, new symptoms appear or old symptoms worsen. During remissions, the disease does not seem to progress. The duration of relapses and remissions varies from person to person.

Secondary-progressive MS

Secondary-progressive MS is a second stage of MS that follows at some point for most people with relapsing-remitting MS. In this phase, MS symptoms progress more steadily (not necessarily more quickly). Along with steady decline, it is possible to experience acute relapses with new or worsening symptoms.

Primary-progressive MS

Primary-progressive MS affects about 10 percent of people with MS and produces symptoms that worsen progressively over time. There are no noticeable relapses or remissions; however, the rate of declining function varies and may even hold steady at times.

Progressive-relapsing MS

Progressive-relapsing MS also worsens progressively but causes sudden worsening of symptoms in addition to the steady progression of symptoms. A person with this type of MS may or may not have some recovery from an attack. There is no remission.

Diagnosis

Diagnosing Multiple Sclerosis

Because a number of conditions have symptoms similar to MS, an accurate diagnosis is critical in creating an effective care plan. Ohio State’s MS physicians spend a lot of time examining you and talking with you about your symptoms. They take you through a walking test and a hand coordination test to assess function in your limbs.

In addition, our neurologists offer you diagnostic tests, all available within our Multiple Sclerosis Center:

Lab tests, such as blood and urine tests, to check for vitamin deficiencies, infections and autoimmune markers

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to detect lesions on the spinal cord or in brain tissue. Ohio State houses one of only a few 3 Tesla MRI scanners in the state. This high-powered machine produces clearer, more precise images to aid in accurate diagnosis

Lumbar puncture (spinal tap) to check spinal fluid for further evidence of MS

Evoked potential test to measure the speed at which the brain tracks electrical signals in response to various stimuli to legs and arms

Optical coherence tomography to monitor progression of MS through the eye. Ohio State recently acquired this new imaging tool that allows physicians to look for thinning of the retina (the lining at the back of the eye), which has been associated with progressing MS

Management

Managing Multiple Sclerosis

Although there is no cure for MS, Ohio State’s Multiple Sclerosis Center is making groundbreaking changes to improve the lives of people who have MS. We provide education and information about treatment options to help you and your family make informed decisions about your care.

Our physicians design a treatment plan with you to help you achieve your goal.

Therapies and treatments include:

Disease-modifying therapies

Disease-modifying therapies to stop or slow the progression of the disease. Our MS specialists prescribe oral, injectable and intravenous medications.

Infusion treatments to relieve acute symptoms

Infusion treatments to relieve acute symptoms such as fatigue, balance problems or bladder problems during an MS relapse or flare up. Some therapies administered in our Infusion Center are:

Intravenous immunoglobulin therapy (IVIG), made from donated blood products, to boost the immune system, improve function and possibly delay onset of another flare-up of symptoms

Intravenous steroids to treat inflammation

Plasmapheresis (plasma exchange) in which blood is removed from your body, and blood cells and plasma are separated. Your blood cells are then mixed with a new solution and returned to your body. This option is used for sudden, severe MS relapses that don’t respond to steroids

Supplemental and alternative therapies

Supplemental and alternative therapies to help with strength, balance, communication and quality of life. Services include occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, relaxation techniques, massage, cognitive therapy and counseling.

Medications for managing symptoms of MS

Medications for managing symptoms of MS, including spasticity (severe and often painful muscle stiffness), urinary tract issues, fatigue and balance problems. Anti-spasticity medications include baclofen, which can be taken orally or delivered to your spinal cord through a pump implanted under the skin of the abdomen. Botox® injections also can relieve spasticity.

Ohio State's Spasticity Management Program

We provide comprehensive care if you are having trouble moving, walking or speaking.

Research

Research

Ohio State supports one of the largest, most active clinical trials programs for multiple sclerosis in the nation and has made consistent, meaningful contributions to MS research over the past 30 years. Researchers at Ohio State’s Multiple Sclerosis Center, conducting both laboratory and clinical research, are keeping pace with — and often leading — efforts to advance care for MS. Clinical trials at Ohio State offer you access to the most current diagnosis, treatment and symptom management breakthroughs, sometimes years before they are commercially available.

The clinical trials at Ohio State focus on four main approaches to battling the disease:

Disease-modifying therapies

Disease-modifying therapies, which slow down the disease. Ohio State investigators are devoting significant energy to finding better, newer or better-tolerated medications to halt or significantly slow the progression of the disease and its symptoms.

Performing stem cell transplants in people with rapidly progressing MS is one example of halting the disease. A small sample of patients at Ohio State who have undertaken this rigorous treatment have gone from being wheelchair-bound to walking unassisted during a three-year treatment plan.

Relapse management

Relapse management, which seeks to hasten recovery from acute MS episodes or minimize side effects of medications given during relapse. The previous decade saw major advances in this arena, with direct contributions from Ohio State research.

Improving diagnosis

Improving diagnosis of the disease and assessment of how well people are responding to treatment.

Symptomatic therapy

Symptomatic therapy to help people with MS improve the quality of their lives right now with new medications, new combinations of medications or new applications.

As a participant in the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) NeuroNEXT: Network for Excellence in Neuroscience Clinical Trials, Ohio State’s research team collaborates with an elite group of medical centers nationwide on the rapid development and implementation of protocols in neurological disorders.

Industry-sponsored trials, some for which Ohio State is a national leader in enrollment

Government-sponsored trials, including important NIH and National Multiple Sclerosis Society trials of new medications or medication combinations

Ohio State-initiated, -designed and -funded trials in areas where Ohio State investigators have specialized interest, such as spasticity (severe stiffening of the muscles)

Ohio State played a significant role in developing a baclofen therapy (anti-spasticity medication) pump implanted in the abdomen of a person with MS to deliver baclofen through a catheter to the spinal cord to relieve pain and relax the legs and arms. This therapy is among the most effective approaches available to treat spasticity.

Multiple Sclerosis Doctors

Our Multiple Sclerosis Center serves our Neurological Institute, which brings together physicians, scientists, nurses and therapists to develop new technologies and better treatments for people with complex neurological conditions

Ohio State has an entire team of professionals dedicated to diagnosing and managing MS, all within our Multiple Sclerosis Center:

Our leaders

Michael Racke, MD

Director, Division of Multiple Sclerosis

I am a professor in the Department of Neurology. My clinical and research interests include neuroimmunology and multiple sclerosis, specifically studying disease pathogenesis and developing novel therapies.

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